Recipes: Black Salt

As most witches who have been around for a while know, black salt is a handy little all-purpose tool. Previously I gave several uses for black salt in magick working and spell work. However, I did not explain how easily it is made. This post will explain exactly how easy it is to make, store and even customize for your spell work and ritual use. It is so easy almost any witch can do it! All it takes is a little time, effort, oil, sea salt, some heat, a cauldron or cast iron pot.

Creating it by using the cauldron you typically use for spell work, will give the black salt and extra “oomph” or “kick” to the black salt based on the spell work the cauldron has recently done. For example, if the witch has been casting quite a few spells to repel negativity, then the cauldron holds on to some of the magick raised in that spell and it will carry over to subsequent spell workings until the cauldron is cleansed of that type of spell energy. Every time you cleanse and then re-season your cauldron, use something to scour the remaining oil and salt from the cauldron as well and save the salt and oil mix left over in a clear, airtight, glass jar. This is your basic black salt starter and used for general magickal workings. You can choose to differentiate the basic black salts based on the types of spells you are cleansing the cauldron of and keep these black salts separated and clearly marked.

Targeting black salt to a specific use adds another step or a few other steps, depending on your personal cabinet of kept items. If you are a witch who keeps the remains of any herbs and parchment based spells burned to banish anger, get rid of negative influences, banish nightmares, etc. those ashes may be added to the salt and oil mixture, as well. Simply focus your intent for the combination and you have intensified the use of the black salt and charged it to your specific needs.

(On a personal note from one witch to another, I would suggest that every witch gets into the habit of saving at least their basic “spell remains” for this and other purposes. It is a simple process of collecting the remains when using a parchment spell and/or any herbs needed to suit your spell. By saving the burned remains from your spells in Ziploc bags and marking them clearly, you later have the choice of adding the ash from the herbs, the parchment spell, and even the charcoal ashes, if a small bit of charcoal is used to burn them to future spells to increase their efficacy. These can come in handy for many reasons in the future as you will learn.)

Mixing a portion of these “spell remains” with a doubled measure of the black salt you have stored in the airtight jar and it creates a targeted black salt. Focus on the black salt as you mix them together well, setting your intent on charging it to your specific use for someone, or to a general protective use if you prefer.

General black salt may always be charged with specific intent when you are ready to use it without any additions. The “spell remains” are not required for any working they are merely an addition to your spell work, just as spell oils, spell candles, etc. used to increase the power of the spell. Always remember that any additions increase the strength of the spell in specific ways that may benefit your spell work once you become accustomed to using them. In this instance, simply separate out the portion of black salt you wish to charge to your specific use and charge it to that purpose. It is a handy tool, for being so easy to make. Keep available for all uses and you can even share it as needed with other witches you know.

If you want to enhance its use, you may create a sigil, draw a rune or a glyph on a piece of parchment, include a pinch of black salt, a selection of relevant herbs and burn it during spell work. (I would suggest saving the remains each time it is a “general” spell, to keep increasing the potency as you go on, such as for protection from nightmares, general protection, banishing negativity, etc.)

Some witches use basic ashes from their fireplace, to mix with the base salt/oil combination, however, I prefer to use only ash created during spell work and/or rituals for purity as it is more powerful, unless you are burning specific charged woods in your fireplace for spell work, as well. Then, definitely save some of that ash for use in future workings, as well.

Some unscrupulous people will try to use black dyes or black food coloring and market the results as “black salt” to young witchlings, and people unfamiliar with its true composition, via untrustworthy Internet sites or less than reputable shops. Although, this will give a “black” tinge to the salt, these are not the sorts of black salt that will affect your spell work and improve it. There is no power behind the creation of this salt. If you are going to purchase it rather than making it, at least make certain the seller you use to obtain it is one you can trust, one who actually knows their magick.

Frankly, I have had ill-educated people argue with me in the past that Indian black salt and black lava salt are the same things as the black salt used for spells and rituals. If they try to tell you this, feel free to call them an idiot, a liar or send them to me, and I will do it for you, if you are not comfortable calling them out. These types of “black salt” are actually foodstuffs, not for use in spells. Anyone telling you differently should not be trusted at all.

Always remember that the type of black salt used in spell work and magick rituals is nothing like the type that is used when cooking. Ritual and spell oriented black salt can actually be slightly toxic to highly poisonous due to the ingredients, such as if any of the herbs used to mix into it are poisonous, and the scrapings from the cauldron itself should not be eaten.

As always, mixing in other elements when working spells will add layers of complexity and strength to your spells, it is up to you to decide which elements to add and what changes to make. Your spells should be a reflection of who you are and what you want to accomplish. Your path is your own, only you can decide how to walk it.

 

Witches’ Spell: Stay Out of My Life

One of the best things about being a witch is that we do not have to wait for things to happen for us, we take control of situations for ourselves. Many times, we have people in our lives who started out pleasant, whom we enjoyed spending time with but as time wore on, we discovered their hidden issues.

Sometimes, they are “drama mammas’ or “drama papas”, those people for whom everything in life is a drama. They are not happy unless there is something to complain about and bemoan. Even the smallest problem in their world becomes the size of the Hindenburg and flames down around them without the slightest provocation. When there is no drama, they happily create it for themselves and everyone else around them. They have convinced themselves that they cannot live without it.

Other times, there are the “not good enough” people. These expect everyone to do everything for them. They contribute nothing but complaints about everyone and everything around them. Nothing is good enough for them; because they judge everything and everyone (other than themselves) to such exacting standards that no one can meet them. If they do something wrong or something that is not up to their previously expressed exacting standards, then the excuses fall like rain, all around them. If, by some chance their standards are met, then these “not good enough” people fabricate a problem about which they might complain.

Then you have the “poor me” types. These are the ones that no matter what has happened to others, the “poor me” people had or have it worse. Someone in the room had a broken limb, well it is nothing like the broken limb the “poor me” had last year. Having trouble with finances, well your trouble is nowhere near as serious as the trouble the “poor me” is experiencing. Recovering from a car accident, just wait until you hear how the “poor me” narrowly escaped a fatal accident just minutes before.

Finally, you have the “negative Ned” and “negative Nelly” types. These are the ones for whom nothing good ever happens. They cannot remember a time in their lives that was not miserable. They had terrible childhoods. Their parent(s) were abusive or absent. They had no siblings or ones who merely added to their misery. They never dated or currently cannot get a date. They never married, married the wrong person, or married an abuser like their parent. Their children, if they have any, are rude, mean, and/or disrespectful to the “negative Ned” or “negative Nelly”.

We all have our own moments of drama, negativity, and self pity, the point is to keep them short, private,  and to consciously choose to move on to better behavior when we notice we are failing. Just as we strive to improve ourselves, we should help others improve, by not tolerating these types of behaviors in people, set some standards for behavior, both for ourselves, and also for the people we allow into our lives. Life is complex enough and challenging enough that we should not have to tolerate people whose chief purpose in life seems to be causing strife and misery in everyone around them.

Some people are ones you may have to retain in your life. A “drama mamma” boss, a “not good enough” father-in-law, or a “negative Ned” landlord are ones that you may have to learn to deal with for at least a limited time. Judge whom you can cut loose without losing any sleep over the losses and whom you cannot, and the ones that you think it is worth the effort to try to save from themselves, by working with them on their issues. I have never believed the saying that people cannot change. I have seen some people change for the better and some people change for the worse. It all depends on the willingness to change and the effort the person puts into it.

Once you have winnowed out the keepers, decided which ones need removal, to oust the people from your life who are a constant drain on you, start with a Disconnect Bath Spell. I would go so far as to suggest using Waning Moon Water with the spell to ensure you get rid of the ones needing removing. This insures that they not “connected” to you and are easier to remove from your life.

Afterward, you might choose a mass blocking of them from your life through an herbal spell. Take a piece of black cotton linen approximately five inches squared and lay it out on your altar or sacred space. Use a teaspoon each of geranium, black pepper, burdock, and marjoram, write the names of the people you are releasing from your life on small strips of parchment and add them to the pile of herbs. Tie the package up into a bundle with the names and herbs inside using a length of black ribbon. Take it outdoors and burn in a fire outside your home to allow their influence in your life to burn and the smoke of their connection to you blow away on the wind.

Another helpful way of getting rid of the people from your life is to buy or make a jar of Four Thieves Vinegar. Setting this aside for a bit, using the principles of the parchment spells, write the name of the person or persons you want to get rid of on individual pieces of parchment, use the ban symbol of a red circle with a line through it, place these strips in a small jar. When you have all the names collected, count them and add them to a small jar. Add a small pinch of graveyard dirt from someone who protected you during their life for each name, then fill the jar two-thirds full of Four Thieves Vinegar, take it to a fast moving and deep stream or river nearby that flows away from your home and gently toss it into the water. Make certain not to break the jar, because as the jar is carried away from you, the people will be carried away from your life as well. They may physically remain in the same area, but their lives will lose more and more interaction with yours the farther the bottle travels.

Using black salt to get rid of people is helpful, or for particularly egregious offenders that you cannot seem to get rid of any other way, you may choose to work a Go Away Spell to make certain that they are out of your life once and for all.

The point is, that as a witch, you do not have to simply wait for someone who is bringing negativity into your life to go away, you can send them away and make them stay out if you choose to do so.

 

Witchery: Mambo Joyous and the Black Salt

I am not exactly sure where I first heard of using black salt for anything other than cursing, but I think it might have been long ago when I was working at DFW International airport in speaking with Mambo Joyous. Looking back on those days, I remember that in my youthful ignorance, when she first introduced herself as Mambo Joyous, I thought that was simply her name just as another woman might be named Mary Ellen. It was not until years later that I learned, Mambo was a title and not a name.

She was normally a very lovely woman. She was generous, kind-hearted, and good-natured. She had a beautiful smile and was usually found charming people up and down the concourses with her huge and joyous laugh. I used to tease her that her parents had named her Joyous because of her copious good humor. However, as I came to discover, when someone crossed her, she was downright frightening. She was a large woman to begin with, tall in stature and wide in girth. When angry she seemed to grow to twice her normal size in my eyes. Needless to say, I made it a point to never cross her during the years we worked together!

In the nature of things, there were always rude customers, especially when the weather was unpredictable. If a plane hit a spot of bad weather and arrived late, some of the businessmen on the flight were sure to miss their connections. When they did, there were always one or two who felt it permissible hurl imprecations at everyone in their path. Mambo Joyous, was always more than happy to hiss a few words back at them and toss a pinch of black salt at their back. If they were stupid enough to actually stand in her face and yell or argue with her, she had no problem, sprinkling it in their path and actually crossing them as they watched, dumbfounded. From what I saw over the two or so years we worked together, the woman had an inexhaustible supply of black salt, fetishes and what I now assume were mojo bags of some sort.

She always had peculiar things in her pockets and she would pull them out, holding them low, shaking them, start talking fast, low, and stalking toward someone who had offended her. It was typically her fellow Nigerians. Her normal heavily accented English disappeared as she reverted to her native tongue, her words coming as a terrifying hiss. I never knew what she was saying and was certainly too afraid to ask, but if she was not cursing them with all kinds of terrors, then I would be shocked.

I can remember that only two women truly crossed her where I could see the repercussions first hand. One lady, “Euphemia”, was not very bright to begin with from what I had seen of her. After she pissed off Mambo Joyous, she actually tried to stand up to her for a few minutes as Joyous stood there hissing her furious words at Euphie, as she was called. Finally, she was smart enough to leave the office at a run with Mambo Joyous fast on her heels, hissing something at her and flinging her black salt at Euphie’s back as she ran. Euphie did not last long after that. The other woman, Musu, was much brighter and immediately began what I assumed was a very abject apology, by the look of her actions and her placating tone of voice. She would place her hands together as if she were praying, as she spoke softly and nervously, then she would hold her hands out in a warding off gesture for a few seconds, then go back to the supplicating posture. All I know is that Joyous brought something out of her pocket and was waving it around for less than 5 seconds. Though I could not understand a word of it, Musu, at least, looked terrified, and from that day forward steered clear of Mambo Joyous at every opportunity.

I believe Mambo Joyous was the first one who ever spoke to me about black salt, because I cannot recall ever speaking to anyone else who would have known what it was and how to use it. I know she was fond of it when she felt it was needed, and I think I recalled her talking about it being both good and bad, “like life”, and saying it is all in how it is used. Years later, after doing some reading on the subject, I now understand that it is suspected that the uses of black salt hail from the Voudou, Conjure and Rootwork Traditions, but no one knows for certain exactly where it began, most scholars merely attribute it to the African Diaspora Traditions and leave it at that.

The uses that I have found for Black Salt include both black and white uses, as well as some that are a bit gray. They include:

• Using it as Mambo Joyous did, as a way to repel someone who is evil or hateful by throwing it at them and chasing them off, apparently while cursing them soundly.
• When someone is treating you unfairly, you may speak a curse and cross them to their face. This is why it is called “crossing” someone because you lay the salt down in the “X” pattern.
• Sprinkle some across your doorways, hearth, and windowsills to turn back negativity and evil that try to get inside your house.
• Use it as cleaning salt, add it to your floor wash to wash away, and banish negativity and evil spirits from your home.
• Use it also in the wash to cleanse your altar and sacred space after doing crossings and hexes, to purify the area before you do any other work.
• To rid yourself of bad neighbors you sprinkle it on their doorstep in the shape of an “X” when they are not looking, curse them and tell them to leave.
• If you have been crossed or hexed, add some black salt to a tub bath water and make sure you wash every inch of your body, including your hair in it, allow your body to air-dry so the protection stays with you while you perform any uncrossing or unhexing spells.
• If you know you have a powerful enemy, keep a small airtight glass vial on your person, in a pocket or purse, for times you suddenly feel angry, depressed, or negative for no apparent reason. Take some out and rub it between your fingers or hands, to absorb the evil energy they send you, then, cast the used salt far away from your person, home, office, etc. If it is a co-worker or neighbor, leave it in their office or yard.
• Keep some in a mojo bag between your mattress and box springs, or beneath your bed to ward off nightmares, and evil spirits as you sleep. Change this out once a week.
• If a co-worker is bothering you, spreading gossip, telling lies, defaming your character, sprinkle some in their office or under their desk when they are not watching, to make them go away and leave you alone.
• Use it to purify items deeply ingrained with or bound with negativity.
• Use it in a voodoo doll with any personal items you might obtain of an enemy, such as hair, a picture, or a list with their name and all you know about them, such as date of birth, place of birth, or any personal facts about their life.

These are just a few of the uses I have discovered for black salt. I am certain there are many more, but you will probably need to seek out a Conjure man/woman, a Rootworker, Hougan or a Mambo, someone trained in the use of this particular form of magick.

A few things to remember are that after the black salt has absorbed the evil or negative energy, it cannot be used a second time. You must dispose of it immediately. You never dispose of it near your home, office or any place you regularly visit, unless you flush it down the toilet, or toss it into fast moving water of some sort, which carries it away from your home and/or office. You can also toss it, or bury it in an enemy’s yard to do more damage, if you wish.